Stilted cabinet!

[chris del]

Here is a stilted cabinet that I am particularly proud of. The design is 100% my own. I actually spent the better part of 6 months refining the design on paper and collecting the perfect materials. I even made a full size leg out of pine to make sure I was happy with the shape.
Ok, a little about the cabinet:
The cabinet itself is qswo with hand cut dovetails. Chopping dovetails in QSWO was a challenge . I spent the better part of 4 evenings doing them and the result was well worth it. The fit was perfect. Finish is light walnut Watco Danish oil and 3 coats of wax.
The legs are lacewood with ebony plugs and finished with 3 coats of blond shellac and 3 coats of wax. They taper from top to bottom and from inside to outside. The spacers between the legs and cabinet are turned brass. I polished them to 600G with wet paper and coated them with a clear lacquer. The legs are held on with 5/16 bolts that thread into "T" nuts inside the legs.
The doors are QSWO with spalted, curly maple panels. The QSWO finished with Watco oil and wax, the spalted maple is finished with water based poly and wax. Hinges are Brusso knife hinges and the hardware is "TWIN BOW" from Lee Valley.
3 drawers have spalted maple fronts with hard maple boxes and half blind dovetails.

The shelves are 1/2" glass. (left out for photo).

Dimentions are 50" tall, 30" wide and 16" deep.http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i309/pickeringwoodworker/DSC_0324.jpg

I really took my time with this project and I couldn't be happier with the result.

[chris del]

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i309/pickeringwoodworker/DSC_0323.jpg

[chris del]

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i309/pickeringwoodworker/DSC_0327.jpg

[chris del]

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i309/pickeringwoodworker/DSC_0327-1.jpghttp://http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i309/pickeringwoodworker/DSC_0327-1.jpg

[gary Zimmel]

Chris

Now that is a sweet looking piece of furniture.

Excellent job.......

[Greg Cole]

Easy to see why you are particularly proud.
Nice material, nice design & nice execution.

Cheers.

Greg

[Jim Becker]

Chris, this piece is OUTSTANDING in every way. Thanks for sharing it!

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Great work, Chris. I can't say the design is really my cup of tea, but I can say that about pieces that go for thousands, too. That still doesn't keep me from admiring the workmanship that went into it.

[Barry Lloyd]

Very nice design. I especially like how the legs are on the brass stand offs and aren't just attached directly to the body of the cabinet. Really like that detail. Gives the whole thing a very "light" feeling.

Barry

[Greg Heppeard]

Gorgeous!!

[Victor Stearns]

Truely Awesome!
What's Next?
Victor

[Russ Sears]

The quality of workmanship that pops off this board is just amazing to me. I'm happy when my finger joints don't rattle.

This might be a silly question but what do you plan to store in it? I'm not trying to be nosey; I'm just curious about the drawers layout vs. the large cavity.

Well done. I raise a glass in your general direction.

[julie Graf]

very nice. i really like the hardware choices also.

[chris del]

Thanks to all for the positive comments. This has been a challanging project for me and a rewarding one as well.
To answer Russ's question: The cabinet was built specifically to hold and conseal my digital cable box, dvd player, xbox etc. Ya, I know.... all this for electronic equipment? :D I could have made a simple cabinet but in the effort to become a better woodworker I try to raise the difficulty level on every project.

[NICK BARBOZA]

that is beautiful!! great job

I hope i can make something like that someday.

[Greg Muller]

Chris,
That is one beeaauuuutiful piece of art!

I know of an XBOX that is going to be very proud of its new home. I hope it's at least the 360!

Greg

[Jeff Considine]

A beautiful piece. The time and effort clearly show through. Can't imagine what the next level of difficulty is from here, but you sure set the bar pretty high. Thanks for the pics. I can't wait for an opportunity to "borrow" some of your design elements. (only wish I could execute half that well)

Jeff

[Dave Burris]

Chris this is one amazing piece of art! Your attention to detail shows your true craftmanship. Work like yours inspires me to take new challeges as well. I would be happy to have just a small amount of the skill you have shown here. Great, Great work!!!

I'm can't wait to see what else you bring to the show!

[Cody Colston]

Wow! That is a stunning piece!

Great design and an interesting choice of woods, too. It's not often that I see QSWO and Lacewood used in the same piece and you made it work wonderfully.

Although the overall design is quite different, were you perhaps inspired by a Thos. Moser chest? I think I remember seeing one with the legs outside the cabinet, similar to yours.

In any event, your craftsmanship is outstanding. Thanks for showing.

[John Michaels]

Outstanding job Chris. Give yourself a pat on the back you deserve it,
Question: In the last photo the lacewood leg looks thicker on the cabinet side than the outside where the ebony inlay is. Is that an optical illusion or real?

[Greg Funk]

Chris,

That is an extremely nice piece. Before loading with electronics perhaps you should consider entering it in a competition. At least send a picture or two into Fine Woodworking for their reader's gallery.

Well done,

Greg

[Irvin Cooper]

Truly an incredible piece of work in every sense. The brass provides an excellent transition between the qswo and the lacewood. You truly have a gift and an eye for design.

Irv

[C Scott McDonald]

Jeez, now that's awesome!

[Phil Thien]

That cabinet is just gorgeous. What is the little black thing on the inside bottom shelf?

[Jeff Hallam]

Incredible workmanship! I really like the mix of wood species, they complement each other well.

What was the most challenging part of this project for you?

[Mark Singer]

Great work! I know the work and care these cabinets take and yours is really terrific in every detail!

[chris del]

What was the most challenging part of this project for you?

The most challanging part, hand cutting the dovetails in 1" thick 1/4 sawn oak. Real hard stuff!!! The Brusso knife hinges were also a challange. They have zero adjustability and are machined to a tight tolerance so they are not forgiving. Every component has to be machined correctly for them to function as designed.

[Joe Chritz]

+ +

Very nice indeed.

Joe

[Greg Peterson]

Wow Chris. Absolutely stunning. Great work. Elegant design and flawless execution.

Well done.

[Dave Ray]

Chris, your time and effort was well spent. Super craftmanship, elegent design. As others have said you should forward pics to Fine Woodworking

[chris del]

Question: In the last photo the lacewood leg looks thicker on the cabinet side than the outside where the ebony inlay is. Is that an optical illusion or real?

You are correct. The legs taper from top to bottom and also have a 7 1/2 degree taper from inside to outside.

[chris del]

Chris, your time and effort was well spent. Super craftmanship, elegent design. As others have said you should forward pics to Fine Woodworking


I have sent the photos via e-mail to FWW on the advise of a friend and a couple forum members. I will not hold my breath as the stuff in the FWW readers gallery is amazing.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Absolutely fabulous!

I love the design and admire the craftmanship. These are the posts that I enjoy most. Thanks for sharing.

-Jeff :)

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I've shamelessly decided to bump this to the top again so the Sunday crowd can see it :).

-Jeff :)

[Larry Marley]

Wow,
elegant, balanced, beautiful, inspiring,
Thank you for sharing this!

[chris del]

Chris, your time and effort was well spent. Super craftmanship, elegent design. As others have said you should forward pics to Fine Woodworking

Well, I recieved my rejection letter from FWW a couple of days ago. I knew it was a long shot. The quality of the work featured in the readers gallery blows my mind. Most of the stuff I can only dream of doing.

More importantly this piece looks really cool in my living room and gets lots of interest from guests. We really love it.

[Bill Wyko]

WOW! You mean I missed this beauty! Fantastic job. I'm starting a job I'm considering legs similar. You've done a remarkable job on this. Should be in a museum.A++++++:)

[Dewey Torres]

Very nice... What does it take to get into FWW anyway, (LUCK BEAUTY, and SKILL???:mad:)
Dewey

[Mark Singer]

Excellent work! Really nice to see something so nicely conceived and crafted. I know how much work goes into a cabinet like this!

[Dave MacArthur]

Fantastic work--so glad someone bumped this, I missed it before. This is honestly my favorite cabinet design I've seen on SMC. Fantastic.

[chris del]

Dewey,

The Hardware is from Lee Valley. The door design was inspired by the round front latch I saw in the catalogue one day! The cabinet was basically designed around it.

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=55195&cat=3,41399,41408

[Stephen Edwards]

Your cabinet is a work of art. Thanks for sharing!

[Jim Tobias]

Chris,
Your cabinet is truly outstanding in every way! I see why you took awhile to come up wiht the details of your design. Obviously, the time paid off as the details that you put into this piece all fit together nicely and make the whole project something special! Congratulations on creating both a work of art and a beautiful piece of furinture!

Jim

[Lars Thomas]

Where did you pick up the brass? Great looking cabinet!

[Larry VanWinkle]

This is exactly the level of workmanship, craftsmanship and design quality I am attempting to attain. I do have a ways to go but your work is an inspiration to keep striving. Thanks for posting the pictures.

[J. Z. Guest]

VERY nice. Those are sure some thin pins on those dovetails.

Who was it built for? Was there a specific use for which it was designed?

[John Dorough]

Chris,

There is nothing I might add to the compliments already given. I will, however, add another "thank you" for sharing this most wonderful piece for our enjoyment.

[Doug Shepard]

That's simply stunning. You better get to work because the rest of your furniture is probably going to look outclassed. Are the door panels QSWO too? It's hard to tell from the pics but they sort of look like ambrosia or splated maple. I'd love to see a closeup of the round section behind the door hardware if you've got one.

[matt dumney]

That is absolutely gorgeous...

[Michael Handrinos]

Well done !!! You should be very proud producing a piece as nice as that. The care and attention to detail really stand out and say alot about you as a craftsman.

Mike

[Jim Ciesla]

Beautiful! And I can appreciate the design "time" that went into it.Jim

[Larry Fox]

Chris - that is truely outstanding in every way. Gorgeous piece!

[Ron Bontz]

Just simply beautiful. My compliments.

[chris del]

Where did you pick up the brass? Great looking cabinet!


I had a local machine shop make the solid brass bushings. I mounted them on my wood lathe, wet sanded to 600G and then coated with a clear laquer.

[chris del]

That's simply stunning. You better get to work because the rest of your furniture is probably going to look outclassed. Are the door panels QSWO too? .


The door panels and drawer fronts are spated maple. They actually have some curley in them too, but hard to see in the pics.


Thanks to everyone for the nice comments!!!!!

[Doug Shepard]

DOH! Thanks for straightening me out. I read your post 2-3 times and managed to miss with spalted, curly maple panels every time.

[Mark Valsi]

Chris,

For some reason, I never saw your box until this morning !

I'm not that keen on the legs, don't dislike them, just don't care for them.

BUT . . .

I love the cabinet !! I'm a fan of "Asian" style stuff and really love that ! The front with the stiles bulged out for the clasp really is beautiful !!!

I am going to steal that idea !! <g>

And the craftsmanship on the dovetails is something I could only dream about.

That is one of the best box/cabinets I have ever seen on this board or any board.

And, it's better than some of the stuff I have seen in Fine Woodworking !!

Thanks for showing this piece to us

[Thom Sturgill]

Wow! That is definitely a piece that speaks well for both your craftsmanship and design sense, and does it in volumes! Congratulations on a very nice piece and thank you for sharing.

[Dennis Lopeman]

You should post this in the Projects thread... or whatever it's called... They should call it the Show-Off Area!!!

That's one awesome piece... my wife will love it - she likes Orient influenced stuff...

[Pete Harbin]

Really stunning Chris!

Pete

[Brent Ring]

Jim B. said it very well, and I completely agree! Beautiful work!